Sword Art Online: Swordsman
by Crimson of the Mandalorians
Summary: A new beta tester has come out. He's ready to make a difference. Will it be enough?
1. Prologue

**Welcome to my own take on SAO and the stories beyond! This story features an OC who was a beta tester like Kirito. When he entered the game, he made different choices and had his own adventures and mishaps.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters related to it. I'm a teenager. I don't really own anything. Except my OC. :)**

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

I really hate this tunnel. There's an angry guy chasing me and it is showing no sign of ending soon. Of course, if I died, it wouldn't be so bad, but I still would like to avoid it. Finally I saw the light at the end of the tunnel as a sword flew past me. Great. He's a sword-thrower. I then decided to never be that sword-throwing guy. He sucks. I dodged the next sword and spun into an attack. I could feel the skill activating as I began the powerful move.

"_Razor Spin_!" I yelled as I finished the strike. He died cursing my name. Hey, he'd respawn soon enough. As I walked out of the tunnel and looked at the setting sun, I remembered everything that I had learned about this amazing game, Sword Art Online (SAO), and was once again glad to be one of the beta testers. I wished that the beta wasn't going to close in ten minutes. I sighed and logged off waking up in the real world, and then went to grab something to eat.

* * *

Life in the real world was the same as ever. I went to school, did my work, and basically lived out my regular boring life. I was so bored that I started replaying old RPG games while I waited for the best VRMMORPG to finally be available to play once more. Later, I'd remember that feeling and laugh. Any way, soon the game would open up worldwide and I would be joining them.

* * *

After all my waiting, today at 1:00 pm I lied down on my bed and put on my Nervegear. I looked at the ceiling and watched as the clock changed to 13:00.

"Link Start!"

**Hello again! I wanted to let you know that with a story with so many characters, I will need occasional OCs to fill in characters that I meet on my journey. By the way, I already have a disclaimer on the prologue so don't expect me to keep making them. I only own my own oc. I will list all the characters and the OCs owners at the end of the prologue as I get them.**

**Character List**

· Braedan – My OC


	2. Chapter 1

**Hello! This chapter is based strongly off of episode 1 of the anime. That's where I got Kayaba's speech from as well. Please message me to help me decide on whether or not I should have this be a separate storyline from SAO or it should change SAO altogether with a few things needed for some of the story arcs remaining the same.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

* * *

As the game began to load I watched as it checked all of my senses and launched Sword Art Online. As I watched, my old character with his familiar spiked hair appeared before me to be used as my avatar once again. I grinned as I accepted that he would be my avatar for the game and was then sent into the world. My first words?

"I'm finally back."

Looking around, I stared in amazement at a player nearby.

"Kirito? Is that you?"

"Braedan? What are the chances that we'd meet up again right off the bat?" He chuckled. "I mean really, what are the odds?

"Hey we're the solo beta players. We're the luckiest guys in the entire game." I said with a grin. "Are you gonna go solo again?"

"Dunno. Maybe I'll join a guild or be a party player this time around." He replied thoughtfully. "I gotta run. Friend me so we can keep in touch."

"Got it." I said as I hit the accept button. "See you around Kirito!"

"You too Braedan!" He said as he ran off.

* * *

I had just headed out to see what had changed about the world since the beta. I explored the world, leveling up once along the way. Around 5:30, I was suddenly teleported back to the town of beginnings, along with everyone else. I looked around for a clue to what was going on, but realized that no one had any idea at all. Near me I saw Kirito and another player teleport as well.

" Kirito. Got any idea what's going on?"

"None at all. This is Klein." he replied.

I nodded to him and decided to wait for something to happen.

I watched in amazement as the game master suddenly formed from the ceiling. He was a massive man wearing a red cloak with a gold trim. Because of the hood, we couldn't see his face.

"Attention Players, welcome to my world. My name is Akihiko Kayaba and I am in control of this world. I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your menus, the log out button. Let me assure you, this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was meant to be. You cannot log out of SAO on your own, and if any one attempts to remove your Nervegear, a transmitter in your Nervegear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull destroying you brain and ending your life. Despite my warning, families and friends of the players have tried to remove the Nervegear resulting in the game having 213 less players than when it started. They've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world. As you can see international media outlets around the world have round the clock coverage of everything, including the deaths. At this point, its safe to assume that the likelihood of a Nervegear being removed as minimal. I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear the game. There are a few things you must remember. First, there is no longer any way to revive a player in the game. If your health points drop to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system and the Nervegear will simultaneously destroy your brain. The only way for a player to escape the game is to clear it. If you find the dungeon on this floor and beat the boss, you will advance to the next floor. Clear all 100 floors and beat the final boss to clear the game. Last, but not least, I have placed a present in the item storage of every player. Please, have a look."

I opened up my menu and selected items. There was only one new item.

"A mirror?" I selected it and caught a simple mirror. As I looked into it, I was suddenly surrounded with blue light. When it faded, I stared at the mirror in surprise. I saw... my face. My real face.

"That fracking genius." I muttered.

"How did he know what we look like?" Klein asked.

"There's a scanner that can see what our faces look like." Kirito said. I tuned out the rest of the conversation and stared at Kayaba. Why is he doing this? What does he stand to gain? I wondered.

"Right now, you're probably wondering why I, Akihiko Kayaba the creator of Sword Art Online and Nervegear would do this. Ultimately, my goal was a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control a world of my design. As you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the Tutorial. Players, I wish you luck." And with that he disappeared. People started freaking out. I walked out of the town square and climbed onto a tall building. I looked out over the town and watched as the sun began to set.

"Looks like I'll have to take this a little more seriously than before."

* * *

_Two Weeks Later_

* * *

I was planning on leveling up a little bit by the end of the day, so I started off by going to a nearby field and fighting some boars. I looked around and saw a boar charging me. I readied my blade and prepared to use a sword skill. I decided on _Lance_ and struck using the skill to impale the boar, which shattered apart. I looked at the window and grinned. Level four. Nice! Suddenly, I heard a girl yelling.

"Get away from me! I'll kill you!"

That seems like it could be interesting, I thought as I started toward the sound. I looked and saw the girl surrounded by several players. All of the players wore dark ragged cloaks hiding their identities, but they obviously didn't have good intentions. They had green cursors, but that wasn't going to stop them or me.

"Five on one. Very fair. How about I join in? Five on two is still in your favor. Deal?" I said as I walked towards them.

"Get out of here if you wanna live newbie. This is our turf," said one of the players, who I assumed was the leader.

"Your turf? Whoa, I'm so sorry to be the one to tell you this, but it's not. It's a free world. Now I'm a very generous person. If you leave now, I'll just forget about this whole incident. Or, I could kill all of you right here. I'm a solo player. Being orange for a couple of days doesn't matter. Your choice. What's it gonna be?"

"Kill em both!" the leader yelled angrily.

"Wrong answer." I drew my long sword and charged at them. I attacked using the skill _Rage Spike_ on the first guy. It hit him hard and knocked him onto his back. His health was in the red, but he wouldn't die. Probably. If he stayed down. The girl was desperately was trying to block attacks from two of them at once. She wasn't doing badly, but she was being out maneuvered. I wanted to help her immediately, but I had to focus on wiping each of them out one at a time, hopefully without anyone dying. The next guy took a swing at me, but it was way too early and missed me by an inch. Maybe two inches tops. I hit him with my fastest strike that drained his HP down to yellow. The second hit to red, and the third was a punch that sent him to the ground. He was alive, but only barely. That was good. His friend was freaking out as I charged towards him and cut of his left hand. He was staring at were it had been until I knocked him to the ground.

"It'll come back if you go heal yourself instead of fighting." I warned.

He nodded shakily. "Th-th-thanks."

"Don't mention it. Now leave." I replied gruffly.

The last two had stopped attacking the girl and now faced me ready to fight.

"Finally! You guys realized that I'm the biggest threat! If you'd like I can give you some time to get ready." I said with a grin.

"Your funeral." The leader said.

The both charged me at once when I struck with _Lance_ at the other player. He hadn't expected it and took the hit head on. Knocked back, his health dropped all the way to red from that one blow. He stared at me.

"Stupid criticals. Almost killing people when I've done so well at avoiding that." I said jokingly. "Seriously though, if that had been another move, you would be dead."

He blanched and started running back to town. The leader stared at me with hate. I stared at him with glee. The girl stared at me with confusion and amazement.

"So… give up?"

"NEVER!" the leader yelled in anger. He attacked without control trying to use his anger to land a hit on me. We began a furious battle of blades where neither could defeat the other. He did manage an occasional hit, but I quickly gained the upper hand as he became tired from all his attacks. Finally I kicked him to the ground and disarmed him.

"Give up… or die. Your choice."

"Fine. I'll go. But next time, I'll win and I won't be so merciful." He said.

I let him get up and head out before collapsing in a heap.

"Well… that was exhausting… I should definitely do that more often." I mumbled from the ground.

"You're insane. You do know that right?" the girl said.

"Sanity is overrated."

"You really are completely insane."

"Must I repeat myself? By the way, my name is Braedan."

"I'm Kuro."

"Kuro… cool name. You're ok right?"

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"I still have four HP… I'm fine."

"Four health… are you joking?"

"No… I only had one hundred and seventy-one HP before hand though." I then pulled out a health potion and drank it.

"Well, I better go. Things to do, people to help, and monsters to kill." I said as I stood up.

"Wait. That's it? You come in here, save me and then just leave?"

"Would you rather I stay or what?"

"Yes… no… I don't know!"

"Fine. I'm staying. Let's go back to town. I have stuff to sell anyway."

"Ok… thanks."

"It's in the job description. Keep nice people alive. Defeat bad people. Survive and clear the game."

"Very funny."

"Thanks." We got up and started walking towards the nearest town joking and laughing as we did. I could tell that this would make a difference. To help those in need, so they could do the same. By doing this, I might have saved several people. I realized that that was how this world had to work. We had to work together.

* * *

**One chapter down, and many to go. I just wanted to let you guys know that I do know that Kuro isn't in SAO. I really don't care. I'm going to be making up characters and changing events to suit my needs for this fic. I felt like she deserved a bit of a spotlight for a little while. Please leave a review!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey! Just wanted to say that this chapter will lead up until the boss battle... so it might be pretty long. Brace yourselves for chaos and adventures!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

* * *

As we headed back to town, we had to fight off a few frenzy boars and a dead wolf cub. Which of course multiplied after I killed it. That sucked. I mean really. Kill one, fight seven more as payment. At least I got some XP for my trouble. By the time we reached town, I was level five, and Kuro was level three. I was exhausted.

"Where's the nearest inn? I'm so tired." I groaned.

"I think it's around the corner? I can't remember." Kuro said nervously.

"it's fine. We'll find it eventually. We got time." I said calmly.

"S-s-sorry." She apologized.

"It's cool. Don't worry. Nothing is gonna happen." I said.

"All right. Let's keep going!" We kept walking through town, when I finally saw the inn.

"Yes! We can finally get some rest!" Kuro grinned.

"I'm paying. You cool with that?" I asked.

"Sure. Why would you attack me now?" She said mischievously.

"I'm sure I could find a reason. Now let's go hit the sack." I said as we headed into the inn.

* * *

_Two Weeks Later_

* * *

I walked into the town of Tolbana with Kuro, looking around. Where is he when you need him? We sat down and looked around. Finally I saw him.

"Kirito! What's up?"

"Braedan! Who's your friend?" Kirito replied.

"Oh yeah. Meet Kuro. We've been a team for a couple weeks. No big deal."

"What do you mean no big deal? I thought we were friends for life." Kuro pouted.

"We are. Don't worry. By the way, aren't you still a solo player Kirito?" I asked.

"Yeah. I don't want anyone to get in the way. Except you." Kirito said with a grin.

"You know I have problems with immortal rage. By the way, you know that we might have to use _Dance of Blades_ to win this game, right?" I asked in return.

"Only if we have to. Wait, it looks like the meeting is starting." Kirito said.

I watched as a man with blue hair and clothes walked forward.

"Okay people. Now that everyone's here, let's get this meeting started. So anyway, I'd like to thank everyone for coming. Good to see you. My name is Diabel. And in this game, the job I rolled is knight."

"Dude! There's no job system in this game." Someone from the crowd yelled. The others in the crowd laughed at his comment.

"Do you guys wanna here this or not?" Diabel asked. We all quieted and faced him.

"Right. Anyway, here's the deal. Our party found the boss room at the top of the tower today." Diabel began. We all began to mutter in surprise and excitement.

"First, we need to defeat the boss and make it to Floor 2. The next step is, we have to tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game! Fact is, it's our duty as the most capable players here. Do you agree or not?" He continued. We slowly all began to clap to show that we did indeed agree.

"Okay. Now that you're all with me on this, let's figure out how we're gonna beat the boss. First off, we'll team up into parties of six. A typical party doesn't stand a chance against a floor boss. We need a raid group, made up of multiple parties." At this, everyone began assembling into parties. In the end, Kuro, Kirito, a cloaked stranger, and myself were all that was left.

"Hey Kirito, go see if she wants to join a party with us for the boss battle." I asked.

"Okay. Be right back." Kirito replied. He walked over to the stranger and talked for a moment. Finally, I saw him send a party invite and the stranger accepted. They then stood back up and walked back over to Kuro and I.

"Invite us too!" Kuro said hopefully.

"Sure thing." Kirito replied. I looked at the stranger and decided that introductions needed to be made.

"Hey, my name's Braedan. What's yours?" I asked.

"My name is... Asuna. Why do you want to know?" Asuna replied.

"He likes knowing his friends names." Kuro said jokingly. "By the way, I'm Kuro."

"And I'm Kirito." He finished.

"Since we're gonna be a team, I figured that we should get to know each other better. How about dinner? My treat." I said with a grin.

"Okay... I guess that's not a bad idea." Asuna said quietly.

"Nice! Free food!" Kuro exclaimed.

"Guys, Diabel is ready to speak. Pay attention." I said, catching their attention. We stopped and looked at Diabel.

"All right. Looks like everyone's teamed up. Now then-" Diabel began.

"Hold up a sec!" Someone else cried. We looked back and at the top of the amphitheater was a guy with spiky orange hair. He leapt down to the ground in a series of jumps landing in front of Diabel.

"My name's Kibaou. Got that? Before we take on the boss, I wanna get something off my chest. We all know about the 2000 people who've died so far, yeah? Well some of you need to apologize to them right now!" Kibaou said angrily. The crowd began to murmur in confusion without understanding quite who he meant.

"Kibaou, I think I know who you're referring to. You mean the ones who are ex-beta testers, right." Diabel said calmly.

"Course I mean them! The day this stupid game started the beta guys just up and vanished, right? They ditched all us beginners. They snagged all the good hunting spots. And they grabbed all the easy quests too. They were the only ones getting stronger in here. This whole time, they ignored us like we're nothin. I bet there's even some of them here. Come on out beta testers!" Kibaou yelled. "We should make them apologize to us. And we should make them give up their money and the items they've got. They can't expect the party to trust them if they don't trust us. Why should we?"

At this, Kirito began to get nervous until I reminded him what we had both donated to. He began to calm down as a large african man rose.

"Can I say something? My name is Agil. Kibaou, right? I wanna make sure we're on the same page. You say that the ex-beta testers should be blamed for the rookies' deaths because they didn't help them. And you want them to apologize and give up their winnings. I leave anything out?" Agil said.

"No. You didn't." Kibaou replied.

"The item store hands these out for free. It's a guide book. You got one didn't you?" Agil said.

"Sure I got one. So what about it?" Kibaou said in return.

"You know who was handing these out? Who made them? The ex-beta testers." Agil said, shocking parts of the crowd. I looked at Kirito and silently reminded him that we had helped to make those guide books. Kibaou was obviously uncomfortable, and I could tell that Agil knew it.

"Listen up. Everyone had equal access to this information. Even so, lots of players still died. Now, I didn't come here to point fingers at anyone. I'm here because I want to learn from those players' deaths. I'm here cause I wanna find out how we're gonna beat the boss." Agil finished.

At this, people began to talk quietly amongst themselves. Agil turned and faced Kibaou, who finally backed down. Both of them took their seats and Diabel stepped forward.

"Okay. Can we get back to the meeting now? For info on the boss, it's all in here. The latest issue of the guide book you just heard about. According to the book, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. Also, he'll be surrounded by his minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. Ilfang carries an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars, and when the last one turns red, he switches to a curved-sword type called a Talwar. He can change his patterns of attack too." At this, a lot of the crowd began to murmur with fear and courage. "That's it for the briefing. As for the distribution of loot, money will be divided equally among everyone. The party that defeats the boss gets the XP. And whoever gets an item, gets to keep it. Any objections?" No one said anything. "Good. We leave tomorrow at ten in the morning. Meeting adjourned people." Diabel said as he finished.

"Well, this will definitely be interesting. Maybe I'll be able to use my beats after all." I said with a grin.

"NO! You can't use that yet. It's too elite." Kirito said. "Maybe later."

"Oh well. Let's go grab some food." I said.

"Beats? What's that mean?" Kuro and Asuna asked.

"I'll tell you when we get to the restaurant. The food's supposed to be really good." I said. I then gave them a devilish smile and walked off towards the restaurant.

* * *

I was halfway through my second sandwich when I finally decided to tell them. It didn't help that Kuro kept 'accidentally' knocking into my arm.

"The thing is... beats is the best skill I have. I made it when I hacked my Nervegear. I have this rage thing that I can sometimes cause in real life, and I found a way to use it within the game. So... yeah." I finished.

"Is this a joke? Because if it's not... you just got way cooler. First, you're a beta tester, then you're a spontaneous hero, and now you made your own skill?" Kuro said. "You rock!"

Asuna just stared at me with a mix of surprise and excitement. Finally, Kuro spoke up.

"How does the music work?"

"Well, I'm really into computers in real life and I kinda combined my Nervegear with a music player. And I hacked it a little. Or a lot. I can't do everything, but I can listen to music." I said sheepishly.

"Seriously?" Kuro said, awed.

"Yeah. Nervegear System Command: Music: Playlists: Now: Song: Harder Better Faster Stronger." I said quietly. They watched as a crimson orb appeared on each of my shoulders and started playing music softly.

"I also set up an avatar for the music. That's the crimson spheres. I'm also trying to hack my Nervegear and gain access to the internet, but so far I haven't made any progress. But it's worth a shot. Now, go back to eating your food. You'll need the energy tomorrow. Nervegear System Command: Close All." I finished. The two orbs dissolved into crimson light and the others all went back to eating.

"That is so awesome." Kuro said a little bit later. "Did you have the music in the beta?

"Yeah... that kinda is how I made beats. I just go with the flow of the music. It helps me fight." I replied.

"Can you teach me?" Kuro pleaded.

"That depends on you. I can teach you, but you might not be able to do it." I said in return.

"Let's hit the sack. We got a really big fight tomorrow." Kirito said quietly.

"Yeah. Let's go." I replied.

* * *

We woke up and got ready for battle. We'd be fighting at 10:00 and had to hurry to arrive on time. When we got there, everyone was ready to head out. We quickly began the journey to the boss room. As we walked, we talked about the plan.

"So... Kirito and Asuna can work together, while I work with Kuro. Is that cool with everyone?" I asked.

"Yeah... but, does everyone know how to do a switch?" Kirito asked.

"Well... I don't... know what a switch is." Asuna said quietly.

"It's cool. Is this your first time in a party?" I asked.

"Yeah. Sorry about that." Asuna said sadly.

"It's cool. Kirito wanna show her all the basics?" I asked.

"Why not? What about Kuro? Can she switch?" Kirito replied.

"Already taught her." I said with a grin.

"Fine. We'll catch up." Kirito said in an exasperated tone.

* * *

_One Hour Later_

* * *

We finally reached the boss room. I equipped my best gear and was ready to face the boss. Everyone else was ready as well. Finally, Diabel spoke.

"Everyone! Let's do this!"

We charged into the room and froze. Ahead of us, Illfang rose from his throne and roared. His minions charged from behind the throne. Diabel took charge.

"Groups A, B, and C attack the boss and rotate out on my signal. Groups D and E be ready to rotate in. F and G keep the minions off us!"

"On it!" I yelled as I charged forward and stabbed at one of the sentinels. My hit glanced off of it's armor and exposed me to it.

"Switch!"

"On it!" Kuro replied. She leapt forward and blocked the sentinel's blade so I could escape.

"Thank you. Now, _Lance_!" I said calmly as I stabbed my sword into the sentinel. It's health dropped to yellow.

"Screw it! This isn't fast enough. Nervegear System Command: Silent mode: HBFS." I said under my breath. The song Harder Better Faster Stronger by Daft Punk started playing in my ears. With every beat I struck at the sentinel, dodged, or readied another move.

"_Razor Spin! __Lance__! Rage Spike! Sonic Thrust!_" I yelled as I struck again and again. At this point, I was fighting three sentinels on my own. Others watched this guy who somehow wasn't dead yet. I killed all the sentinels and turned, ready to fight. Suddenly, the boss roared. His health was almost gone. He threw away his axe and buckler and drew a sword. It was an Odachi... that wasn't good. It was supposed to be a Talwar. Apparently, it's not the same as the beta after all. Diabel charged forwards to meet the boss.

"Stay back! Let me handle this!" Diabel yelled as he ran forward.

"No! Stay back!" Kirito yelled. Immediately Illfang struck Diabel and knocked him back to the ground. Kirito and I sprinted towards him. Kirito got there first. All I heard was this:

"Defeat him... for everyone." Diabel said before he shattered apart. I stared at where he had been.

"Was he... one of us?" I asked slowly.

"Yeah... he was." Kirito replied.

"Well, let's not let him die in vain. I'm gonna beat this guy into next week!" I said angrily.

"Alright... there goes our plans of staying under the radar." Kirito replied. "Let's take him down!"

"Play: Counting Stars." I said calmly as I walked towards Illfang. Immediately, the room was suddenly filled with silence. Kirito, Illfang and I stared at one another. Illfang roared as he started towards us. The other players continued to fight the minions.

"I WILL NOT FALL!" I yelled and then charged at Illfang, Kirito right behind me. I ran right to him and began to unleash hit after hit with the beat. Kirito had my back the whole time, but we were still human. Illfang struck me an lowered my health to yellow. Kirito took a hit that put him at the bottom of green.

"_Dark Tornado!_" I yelled. This was a complex move that involved me spinning fast enough that I shot through the air like I could fly... for about three seconds. I slammed into Illfang's sword spinning and knocking sparks everywhere. Kirito started attacking from behind. Everyone now stopped. The minions were gone. It was just Illfang left. They watched in amazement as Kirito and I executed perfect switches and kept him from being able to attack.

Finally, Illfang struck Kirito and I hard. We hit the ground. My health was red, and Kirito's was mid yellow. I drank a potion and looked to see Asuna and Kuro ready to try and stop his next attack, but I leapt up and with Agil's help, we blocked the blow.

"Hold him off!" Agil yelled. The remaining players stood with us and helped us corner Illfang long enough for Kirito to make the killing blow. His blade ripped Illfang apart, and the Kobold Lord shattered apart.

"Is that it? Did we win?" Kuro asked me quietly. All of the sudden, the word CONGRATULATIONS appeared in front of us.

"That's it. We won." I said calmly. Then I fell to my knees.

"That was exhausting." Kirito said from beside me.

"Get anything?" I asked.

"Yeah. The coat of midnight. You?" Kirito replied between breaths.

"Illfang's Odachi. It's called the Odachi of the Kobold Lord." I replied before falling on my face. "I need to rest now."

Everyone was congratulating Kirito and telling him that they'd won because of him.

Suddenly, I heard Kibaou yell in anger.

"Why'd you do it. Why'd you let Diabel die?" He said.

"Let him die?" Kirito said slowly.

"That's what I said. Admit it. You knew what technique the boss was gonna use. You could have told us! Then Diabel would have stood a chance. He wouldn't have had to die!" Kibaou yelled angrily. People began to murmur. One of them spoke.

"I know how he knew! He used to be a beta tester! Think about it. He knew the boss's attack patterns. He knew, but he kept it from us! And, I bet he's not the only beta tester here. Come on! Show yourselves!" At this, people began to look around at their fellow players with unease.

"Kirito... if they start fighting now..."I said quietly.

"I know. But, what if we make ourselves look way better? Like the other beta testers were newbies." Kirito replied quietly.

"Let's do it. For everyone." I said in return.

Kirito started laughing. Everyone turned and stared at him. Asuna, Kuro, and Agil had been trying to reason with Kibaou, but stopped when they heard Kirito.

"So you guys think I used to be a beta tester. It's not cool to put me in the same class as those newbs." Kirito said as he rose.

"What did you say!" Kibaou said as he stared at Kirito.

"You heard me. Most of the thousand people who scored a slot in SAO's beta were rookies. The were so green, they didn't even know how to level up. Hell, even you guys are better than they were. But me, I'm nothing like those guys, man. During the beta, I made it to floors that were higher than any of the other testers. That's a fact. I knew about the boss cause I fought tons of monsters with way more sword skills on higher floors. I know a bunch of other things too. More than you can imagine. More than any info broker." Kirito said calmly.

"W... What the hell? if that's true, than you're worse than a beta tester. You're a cheater! That's what you are!" Kibaou yelled. The crowd yelled as well. One of them yelled.

"He's a beta tester and a cheater! He's a beater!" At this I stood up and laughed.

"You act like he's the only one!" I yelled back laughing. "What about me?"

"A beater? Yeah, that's good. I like it. OK. you can call us beaters. Just make sure you don't confuse us with those beta testers any more." Kirito said as he equipped his cloak of midnight. I equipped the boss's sword. We both turned and began to walk towards the stairs. Everyone stared at us as we walked and reached the stairs to the next floor. Asuna and Kuro ran towards us and caught us on the stairs.

"Wait." Asuna said as we climbed. We paused. "What about us?" She gestured to herself and Kuro.

"You can be powerful here on your own, but if the day comes when someone you trust invites you to join a guild, don't turn it down. Cause there are limits to what a solo player can do."Kirito replied.

"But you guys are solo players." Kuro retorted.

"And we have limits." I said as I continued to walk up the stairs. Kirito dissolved are party and we traveled on to the next floor. Alone. Like the solo players we were...

* * *

**So... there's chapter 2. Yeah... So... leave a review... and I'll leave a chapter... so... bye I guess.**


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